Chapter 61 #3
He reached for the lunchboxes, but Akansha quietly stopped him and took them instead. He immediately understood she would carry them home later. Without another word, he nodded and walked away.
Akansha packed both their lunchboxes into her bag and stood up along with the others.
"WOW... I mean... WOW", her colleagues exclaimed the moment Shaurya disappeared.
Akansha gave them a look because she already knew what they meant.
"The understanding..." Sarita sighed dramatically. "I genuinely don't know who's luckier to have the other."
Akansha only smiled faintly and walked away, but the question stayed with her. Were they really lucky to have each other? She didn't know about Shaurya. But was she lucky? Maybe she was. She had experienced real love once. Not from MLA Shaurya Singh Shekhawat. Just... Shaurya.
The man who lit up her world, who made her forget exhaustion, worries, and the miserable life she lived while working thirteen hours daily to fulfil the endless demands of her ungrateful mother and sister.
She wasn't someone who expressed pain easily. But with him, she did. Because he listened. He became her peace. And then one truth destroyed everything.
His betrayal still hurt.
But strangely, it had never been enough to erase her love for him completely.
Even during his coldness and emotional distance, she kept trying to save their marriage. But eventually his silence broke her — the same Akansha Dixit who carried family responsibilities since childhood.
And when he said he didn't want to have a child with her... That became the final nail in the coffin. At that point, she no longer needed protection from the world. She needed protection from him and his cruel parents.
So she left.
Forever.
Carrying a part of him inside her.
And she promised herself his shadow would never touch her child because, at that time, she truly believed he didn't deserve it.
But now... Years later... He was back in her life. In their daughter's life. And somehow, he had become Siya's addiction the same way he had once become hers.
Maybe she was slowly reaching that point again too.
Fate brought them together once more, and now she finally knew the truth behind his actions.
No, his reasons didn't justify betraying her.
But they couldn't be ignored either. Neither could his suffering.
Neither could the things he did to protect her.
Her pain still existed. The scars of betrayal still lingered deep within her, and those wounds stopped her from fully giving him another chance.
She worried about his health, his pain, his loneliness, but her own fears still held greater power over her decisions, and she wasn't guilty for prioritizing herself. She had become strong enough to do that. She chose self-respect; years of living for others taught her that.
But what about Shaurya?
He always placed her, his sister, and now his daughter above himself. Sacrificing himself came naturally to him whenever it involved the people he loved. She left to protect her dignity and her baby. At least she had Siya beside her. She survived by feeding herself hatred toward him.
But what did he have?
Guilt. Loneliness. Regret. Endless enemies. And health issues earned while trying to protect her.
Akansha shook her head firmly, pushing his thoughts away before forcing herself back to work. Maybe remembering that his life wasn't exactly a bed of roses either would slowly help her see things differently.
But then again... he never had to fight for a piece of bread.
She did.
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Evening arrived sooner than expected, and everyone assembled in the hall.
It was just the CR Committee and Shaurya.
He chose to interact with them not as the Chief Minister or the Education Minister, but as one among them, and the session turned out to be one of the best interactions the committee had experienced with him.
The discussion was productive, and Shaurya was genuinely overwhelmed by the response they received. Eventually, they moved on to the Q they had never seen Shaurya lose composure like this before.
"Give me the phone", Akansha said firmly, taking it from him.
"Okay... Is the fall bad? ... Alright. Did the doctor check her? No injuries to the head, right?", she asked calmly while listening carefully to the receptionist.
Earlier that afternoon, while leaving for the Secretariat, Akansha had seen Rajnath rushing out after receiving an urgent call. Dev and Aakriti were still asleep upstairs, so she got Siya ready and dropped her at school before heading to work herself.
Since Siya's class now had extended hours for art and story sessions, she stayed back at school in the evening. While playing with other children waiting for pickup, Siya slipped and injured herself.
The receptionist immediately attended to her, and the school doctor bandaged the wounds. The injuries weren't serious, but Siya had cried uncontrollably.
Unfortunately, instead of calling Akansha first like instructed, the receptionist directly contacted Shaurya after finding his number in the system.
And Akansha knew exactly why.
"Head injury?... Is Siya hurt th—"
Shaurya tried asking again, but Akansha shook her head immediately.